1. Field of the Invention
The invention relates generally to a modular jack and in particular to a modular jack having a single opening for receiving a standard modular plug which, when inserted in the jack, disconnects conductive pins from a circuit board.
2. Prior Art
Modular jack patching devices are known in the art as exhibited by U.S. Pat. No. 5,074,801. Referring to FIG. 1, the '801 patent describes a modular jack patching device having a pair of oppositely disposed openings 2 and 4 for receiving standard modular plugs. A circuit board 6 is clipped to the back side of the housing, as shown in FIG. 2, for establishing an electrical connection between resilient conductive pins 8 positioned in the openings 2 and 4. Resilient conductive pins 8 normally establish an electrical connection with the circuit board 6. When a plug is inserted in the opening 2 or 4, the pins 8 are deflected away from the circuit board 6 and the electrical connection between the resilient conductive pins 8 and the circuit board 6 is broken. U.S. Pat. No. 5,178,554 discloses a similar modular jack patching device.
Although the modular jack patching devices of U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,074,801 and 5,178,554 are well suited for their intended purposes, there are difficulties using these modular jacks in a variety of applications. The size of the dual opening modular jack makes it difficult to use the jack with existing systems. In addition, certain applications only require a single jack in which the dual opening modular jack of the prior art is unnecessary.